Fertilizer spreader



March so, 1954 E. M. DURAND 2. 73.7 1

' FERTILIZER SPREADER med Rov. 18, 1949 s Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor JIM ; Eugene M. Durand March 30, 1954 DURAND 2,573,741

FERTILIZER SPREADER Filed NOV. 18, 1949 :s Sheet-Sheet 2 Fig. 5.

Inventor Eugene M. Durand March 30, 1954 DURAND 2,673,741

FERTILIZER SPREADER Filed Nov. 18, 1949 sweats-sheet s 8: g 0 e R g &

Q g a $2 1* k l1; &

k i Q Inventor Eugene M. Durand B, Mm & w wm Patented Mar. 30, 1954 UNITED VS TAT ES PATJEN T OF P l CE FERTILIZER SPREADER Eugene M. Durand, El Centro, Calif.

ApplicationNovember 18, 1949, Serial No. 128,170

2='Claims. 1

This invention relatesto new and*useful improvements in fertilizer spreaders and the primary object of the present invention is toprovide a fertilizer spreader including an agitator and a fee'd'screw that are operatively' connected to the power take-off shaft-of a tractor so that as the tractor is moved overa'strip ofland-relatively fine particles of fertilizer will be discharged and dispersed at the rear of the tractor.

Another im ortant object of the present invention is to'provide a fertilizer spreader including a hopperhaving discharge means andamanually operated valve construction for regulating the amount of fertili er leaving the hopper through the discharge means.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a fertilizer spreader that includes a novel and improed mounting means for quickly and readily applying the spreader to a tractor.

A-still further aim of the present invention is to provide 'a fertilizer spreader that is simple and ractical in construction, strongand reliable in use, small and compact in structure, relatively inexpensive to manufacture and to operate, otherwise well adapted fOr the purposes for which the same is intended.

Other objects and advantages :reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings formingpart hereof, wherein like numeralsrefer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure'l is a fragmentary plan view of attractor and showing the present invention applied thereto;

Figure 2 is an enlargedside elevational view of-Figure l and with parts of th tractorbroken away for the convenience of explanation;

Figure .3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken substantially on the plane of sectionilin'e 1l3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a front view of'thehopper'tak'en substantially on the plane of section line 4-4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of Figure i and with parts broken away and drawn in section to illustrate the clutch mechanism;

Figure 6 is an enlarged detail sectional view taken substantially on the lane of section line 5 -6 of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken substantially on the plane of section line 'l-'! of Figure 4;

Figure 8 is a detail horizontal sectional view showing the manner in which the agitator and oil the feed screw are connected to the power takeoff shaft of the tractor;

Figure 9 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken substantially on the plane of section ;-'i-Q of Figure 3.

Referring-now to the drawings in detail, wherein for the purpose of illustration, there is disclosed a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the numeral I It represents thehopper ortrough including forward and-rear downward converging walls l2 andl i. A tube-l-fiisfixed between the lower ends of the walls I2 and l d. The upper periphery of the tube i6 is provided with a plurality of longitudinally displaced-inlet openings it that extend the entire distance-between the lower ends of the walls 12 and I4.

Suitable bearings'it are mountedat'theends of the tube it and rotatab-ly support the ends A pluralityof'longitudinally spaced guides or ears 25 rise from the tube l5 and slidably support a bar -28 to which there is secured a plurality of longitudinally displaced concavo-convexed: plates or valve members 39. She side edges 32 of the plates 30 bear against the inner faces-0f the walls 12 and It --to prevent rotation of the bar 23 and .the plates 39 relative to the tube 16.

Pivoted to a'bracket 3 1 mountedon oneend wall oi'the'hopper it, is a lever-'36 that receives a hook-Stat one end of the bar 28. As'the lever 36 is moved toward the hopper E8, the plates 30 will'he urged toward the inlet openings l8.

A'group of discharge nipples or conduits Ml depend from the tube l6 and from triangular discharge openings ii in the tube and constitute the sole means whereby fertilizer is discharged from the tube [6.

The end walls of the hopper Hlsupportbearings d2 that journally receive the ends of a rod 46. A plurality of longitudinally andi'ciroumferentially spaced agitator plates d8 arefixed to-the rod ifi. All orthe plates 18 are inclined relative to the rod it and the plates are also inclined relative to each other in order to obtain the most eflicient agitating effect on fertilizer in the hopper.

A pair of arms 58 are fixed to and project forwardly of the wall 52. The arms 58 support a pivot pin 52 that is connected to the rear part of a tractor Ed by links 55. These links 56 are also connected to the lift arms 58 of the tractor so that the hopper may be raised and lowered.

Straps 69 are mounted on the pin 52 and an adjustable connecting member 82 is pivoted at its rear end to the upper ends of the straps 6D.

The forward end of the member 62 is pivoted to the rear of the tractor. The upper ends of the straps 60 are secured to a substantially U-shaped member 64 whose leg portions are welded or otherwise fixed to the upper end of the wall l4 and to cross-members 66 joining the walls I2 and I4.

Chains 60 connect the pin 52 to the rear of the tractor and limit downward swinging movement of the hopper relative to the tractor.

A support plate 10 is fixed to and projects laterally from the wall 12. The plate 10 supports a bearing 12 that cooperates with a further bearing 73 on the wall l2 in rotatably holding a shaft 14.

The shaft 14 supports a sprocket 16 that is connected to a sprocket 18 on one end of the rod 46 by an endless chain 80. Another sprocket 82 on the shaft i4 is connected to a further sprocket 84 on one end of the screw shaft 22 by a sprocket chain 86.

A further shaft 88 is journaled in suitable bearings on the plate 70 and the arms 50. The shaft 88 is connected through reduction gearing 90 to the power take-off shaft 92 of the tractor. A suitable clutch mechanism 94 controls the drive to the shaft 88.

Means is provided for driving the shaft M by the shaft 88. T1115 means comprises a first clutch plate 96 fixed to the shaft M and having a plurality of circumferentially spaced slots 93 for receiving a group of lugs I00 on the side face of a second clutch plate and sprocket 102 that is journaled on the shaft 14. A flanged collar 194 is fixed to the plate I02 and supports a cylindrical guard 109. A stop or abutment I08 is secured to the shaft M within the guard 106. A coil spring I09 embraces the shaft 74 and is biased between the stop I08 and the collar 104 to yieldingly urge the plate I02 toward the plate 96. A sprocket H0 is fixed on the shaft 88 and is connected to the sprocket 102 by an endless sprocket chain 1 l2.

A horizontally swing.ng bell-crank lever H4 is pivoted on the hopper. One leg of lever H4 is connected to the guard I86 by a chain H6 whereas the other leg of the lever 1 i4 is connected to a crank arm H8 by a chain H9. The crank arm I I8 is mounted on a shaft that is rotated by a hand lever 120 in order to move the plate 192 relative to the plate 96. When the plate 102 is spaced from the plate 96, the plate i01 idles on the shaft :4 and the feed screw and the agitator fail to rotate. However, when the plate I02 is urged against the plate 96, the lugs I00 enter the slots 98 so that the shaft 74 will rotate with the shaft 88 and the feed screw and the agitator rotate.

The leg portions I22 of a substantially U- shaped angle iron frame-member 124 are secured to the end portions of the tube l6 and the web portion of the frame-member I24 is disposed longitudinally of the tube 16 and directly beneath the discharge tubes 40 to function as a means for scattering fertilizer passing through the discharge tubes.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A fertilizer spreader comprising an elongated horizontal trough having a pair of elongated converging walls, a horizontally disposed tube mounted between and having a top merging with the walls and also having a plurality of inlet and outlet openings therein; agitating means mounted in the trough above the tube, a feed conveyor within the tube, and a plurality of longitudinally spaced guides extending upwardly from said tube, a bar paralleling said tube and slidably carried by said guides, concavo-convexed plates secured to said bar and slidably received on said tube for closing the inlet openings in said tube, and an elongated frame support for the trough and including means for attaching the trough to the rear of a tractor and transversely of the direction of translation of the tractor.

2. In a fertilizer spreader including a horizontally disposed feed screw accommodating tube having longitudinally spaced openings in its upper and lower walls, a feed screw disposed in said tube, means for driving said feed screw, a plurality of longltudinally spaced guides fixed to and extending upwardly from the upper periphery of said tube, a rod paralleling and overlying the tube and slidably received by the guides, a plurality of longitudinally spaced concavo-convex plates disposed under the rod and having their convex surfaces fixed to said rod. said plates conforming to the shape of the tube and being disposed over the tube with their concave surfaces contacting the upper periphery of said tube, and hand operated lever means operatively connected to one end of said rod for simultaneously moving the plates to selectively open and close the openings in the upper wall of the tube.

EUGENE M. DURAND.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 534, 50 Kimball Feb. 26, 1895 1,005,525 Erich Oct. 10, 1911 1,095,383 Cole May 5, 1914 1,181,930 Sherwin May 2. 1916 1,776,814 Lutz Sept. 30, 1930 1,947,379 Cargill Feb. 13, 1934 2,097,102 Moore Oct. 26, 1937 2,258,519 Schum-acher Oct. 7, 1941 2,350,107 Gandrud May 30, 1944 2,369,755 Rosselot Feb. 20, 1945 2,400,646 Klein May 21, 1946 2,410,937 Harder Nov. 12, 1946 2,522,693 Stiteler Sept. 19, 1950 

